Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge '' is a third level educational and research institution headquartered in Galway, Ireland. It was established as part of the city's University in 2004, to further the development Irish-medium education. The academy works in co-operation with faculties, departments and other university offices to develop the range and number of programmes that are provided through the medium of Irish on campus and in the academy's Gaeltacht centres.
Locations
The academy operates in four in urban and rural campuses or centres:
Áras na Gaeilge on NUIG's main campus in Galway city
The academy's staff have been involved in the creation of The New Irish-English Dictionary, the Digital Repository of Ireland and other archival projects, providing material and data insights to the national Irish-language broadcaster TG4, and conducting examinations for the national Seal of Accreditation for translators. It maintains a close relationship with departments of the university in Galway. Given its concentration of Irish language education and research skills, the academy provides services for other bodies such as translation services, language education for NUIG staff, and developing the university's Language Scheme. It publishes papers on topics including sociolinguistics, technology, pedagogy and translation in its annual scholarly publication, An Reiviú.
History
The importance to any linguistic group of higher education through their own language has long been acknowledged. The foundation in Scotland of the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, an institute which is comparable to but more substantial than the academy as it is a constituent college of the University of the Highlands and Islands, has been accompanied by a marked increase in the vitality of Scottish Gaelic. While higher education has a long history in Ireland, for most of that history it has been almost exclusively been a pursuit for English-speakers. Many Irish third level institutions provide courses where Irish itself is the object of study, but outside of that it very rare for Irish to be the medium through which a student can achieve the prestige which goes along with the title "graduate". The academy was founded in 2004 under the auspices of NUI Galway to provide a centre of excellence for university studies and research through the Irish language. It was the only third level body where the working language and language of instruction are Ireland's indigenous language until in 2013 when the educational organisationGaelchultúr was granted its status as a third level institution by the QQI, giving birth to Coláiste na hÉireann. The academy is not a large body and given its subordinate status to its parent it cannot truly be considered an Irish language university.
Academic
The academy offers university courses of various levels in numerous subjects, primarily in language studies, communication and technology, and indigenous culture. Many courses can be taken full-time or part-time, and some even cater for distance learning. Prospective students can apply directly or through the Central Applications Office, as appropriate. Below is a sample of the programmes which have been delivered.
Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht: Principal Findings and Recommendations, Dublin: Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge Members of the academy produce regular contributions to the interdisciplinary online journal, An Reiviú.
Potential sources
The Role of the University in Sustaining Linguistic Minorities – an Irish Case Study by Seosamh MacDonnacha, pages 49–62 in , 2010, edited by Marjeta Humar and Mojca Žagar Karer
Education in the Celtic Languages, Irish Medium by Seosamh MacDonnacha, pages 295-296 in The Celts: History, Life, and Culture edited by John T. Koch, Antone Minard. ABC-CLIO, 2012.
The Role of Capacity Building in the Implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language by Seosamh MacDonnacha, pages 11–20 in , edited by John M.Kirk and Dónall P. ÓBaoill. Cló Ollscoil na Banríona, 2011.
